Presentation to Joint Committee on the Improvement of Quality of Life and Status of Youth and Disabled Persons

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Presentation to Joint Committee on the
Improvement of Quality of Life and Status of
Youth and Disabled Persons

• Umsobomvu Youth Fund
• Wednesday, May 30, 2001

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Agenda

• About the Fund
• Policy
• Programmes
• Budget
• Anticipated policy and programmes

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Policy

• Definition strategies designed to bring about
  certain desired goals.
• Goal amelioration of the plight of the most
  needy youth
• Strategies / policies
• what UYF wishes to achieve regarding policy
  formulation/ strategy development
• Strategic guiding principles
• Vision, mission, key performance areas, core
  competencies, primary stakeholders
• Investment philosophy / approach to programmes
• Policies for effective practice

Policy
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What UYF wishes to achieve?

• A clear link between policy and implementation
• Policy framework created by the National Youth
  Commission. Focus links with policy
• Need to narrow the gaps between
• knowledge and policy
• policy and practice
• For policy to be effective, those affected and
  knowledgeable must participate
• To build research capacity, professionalise
  youth work

Policy
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Strategic guiding principles

• Governments mandate
• Create a platform for job creation and skills
  development transfer for youth
• Strategic guiding principles
• Vision To enhance the active participation of
  youth in the mainstream economy
• Mission To facilitate and promote the creation
  of jobs and the development of skills for the
  South African Youth

Policy
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Strategic guiding principles

• Key Performance Areas
• Skills development
• Job creation
• Prudent resource management
• Communication of information
• Core competencies
• Co-ordinating ability
• Access to networks and resources
• Being a catalyst for youth development

Policy
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Target group

• 18 - 35 years
• Predominantly out of school
• Catering for different cohorts
• Skilled/ unskilled
• Rural/ peri-urban
• Women
• Disabled
• Hiv / Aids
• Not to duplicate the educations sphere

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Investment philosophies

• Always have a policy of diversifying its exposure
  by syndicating projects with other funders/donors
  and by forming linkages
• Neither be a tag along or a Fund for departments
  nor should it aim to displace existing
  programmes
• Each project must specify outcome measures for
  on-going monitoring and evaluation
• Pursue a strategic (narrow) focus in order to
  achieve sustainable impact
• Endeavour to attain national coverage and
• Not intending to build a huge bureaucracy.

Policy
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For effective practice

• Intergrated approach to youth development
• There is no single model
• Leverage resources through collaboration
• Provide extended service Support follow-up
• Hire and develop quality staff
• Adult support and structure
• Commit to continuous improvement
• Treat youth as a resource
• Make use of work (including community service)

Policy
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Focus of the Fund
INVESTMENTS PROJECTS
Skills Development Transfer
Youth Entrepreneurship
Contact, Information Counselling

• SME Development (Funding)
• Enterpreneurship Support
• Business skills development
• After-care / mentoring

• Youth information service
• Youth line
• Internet
• Youth advisory centres

• On-the-job Training / Skills Development
• National Youth Service
• Special projects
• Human Resource Development

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The model informing our focus
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Focus of the Fund

• Contact, information and counselling
• Address lack of information
• Provide a reliable resource for information
• In the short-term, address the lack of
  institutional capacity
• Skills development transfer
• Emphasis is on training in the context of work
• Providing support for the human resource
  requirements
• A retrieval programme for marginalised youth

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Focus of the Fund

• Youth entrepreneurship
• Formal sector is not creating jobs
• Encourages self-sustainability
• Addresses economic transformation objectives
• SMEs are an imperative for economic growth
• To consider an interim Fund
• to sustain existing programmes within our focus
• to build capacity of surviving NGOs/CBOs
• to learn from existing programmes

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Budget

• Approx. R930 million
• Allocation to programmes
• 5 years to 7 years (crisis intervention)
• R172 m to R123m per annum

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Challenges

• Capacity
• Govt. support (line managers)
• Private sector support
• Funding not sufficient
• NGOs/CBOs (institutional and individual capacity)
• Policy strategy
• Consensus (e.g. with organised labour)
• Co-ordination(Intergrated youth, rural, H.R.
  develoment)

Policy
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Challenges

• Information
• Access to right channels
• Alternative channels of communication
• Youth
• Participation
• Unrealistic expectations
• Lack of capacity amongst youth structures
• Risk management
• Monitoring and evaluation

Policy
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Sustainability

• Good and effective practice (management)
• Focused approach - not everything to every one
• Form linkages (e.g. National Skills Fund)
• Donor funding
• Governments on-going funding
• Youth entrepreneurship

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Anticipated policy and programmes

• Clear policy definition of catering for disabled
  persons as part of the mainstream
• Universal policies and universal designs in
  planning and implementing to allow differences to
  be accommodated within the mainstream and not
  separately
• Gender balance (e.g. teenage pregnancy)
• Juvenile offenders (e.g. difficulty of obtaining
  employment)

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Anticipated policy and programmes

• Raising the Profile of Positive Youth Development
• Urgent need for youth development sector to be
  taken seriously
• Youth development is the frontline of national
  development (its an imperative)

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Thank you!